Sen. Kerry Says He Mishandled Furor Over Yacht Taxes

Democrat Kerry tells The Boston Globe that he doesn't believe he dealt with the issue quickly enough or effectively enough. He added that he did nothing legally wrong.
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Rangel hit with 13 ethics charges

Kicking off a politically perilous process, the House ethics committee on Thursday officially lodged 13 charges against Rep. Charles B. Rangel, including that he used his office to raise $8 million for a college public policy center named after him and failed to file taxes while he was Congress' chief ...
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Kerry, yacht in rough seas over taxes

BOSTON | Sen. John Kerry moved to end a controversy over his decision to base his new $7 million yacht in tax-free Rhode Island, informing the Massachusetts Department of Revenue on Tuesday that he would "promptly" pay taxes as if the vessel were docked in his home state.

In a ...
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Kerry Agrees to Pay Massachusetts Tax on Yacht Docked in Rhode Island

The Massachusetts senator told his state's tax collector Tuesday that he would "promptly" pay all the taxes due on his new $7 million yacht that he docked in tax-free Rhode Island.

Democrats mull taxes for higher earners

A small but growing chorus of Capitol Hill Democrats say they support delaying a scheduled expiration of Bush-era tax cuts on wealthier Americans, bucking the Obama administration's desire to shield only middle-income earners from a tax increase.

But unlike Republicans, influential Democrats - including Sens. Kent Conrad, Ben Nelson and ...
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Time for Obama to make sacrifices

Opinion: The government needs to cut spending and balance the budget without raising taxes.



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Minnesota gubernatorial candidates not shy about talk of tax increases

ST. PAUL, Minn. | One Minnesota governor hopeful framed his open concession to raise taxes as his "Walter Mondale moment." Another contender is fond of saying "Read my lips: Tax the rich" and makes a pro-tax pledge in TV ads. Two others don't shy either from tax calls.

At a ...
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Timid On Taxes? Not in Minnesota Governor's Race

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IMF insists U.S. curb deficits

Echoing fiscal hawks in Washington, the International Monetary Fund on Thursday called on the United States to make a stronger effort to curb its budget deficits.

The IMF said Thursday that in addition to cutting government spending, the Obama administration will have to consider raising taxes to get the U.S. ...
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Obama Science Czar Called for Carbon Tax to Redistribute Wealth from Global 'North' to 'South'

Five months before President Obama named him director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, John P. Holdren called for carbon taxes that would allow the transfer of wealth from global 'North' to 'South.'
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Virginia Challenges Feds in First Health Care Lawsuit Hearing

The Obama administration is trying to have its cake and eat it too by arguing that the federal government is not taxing people to pay for health care, but then says state must comply with the new law because they can't avoid paying taxes, Virginia's attorney general's office argued in federal court Thursday.

Unions battle for public job benefits

Major clashes are breaking out between public-sector unions and state and local governments seeking to steady their wobbly books by scaling back employee benefits, pitting labor's political clout against lawmakers eager to avoid raising taxes or cutting programs.

From New York to California, state capitals and city halls facing huge ...
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Biden Calls Custard Shop Manager a 'Smartass' After Taxes Comment

Vice President Biden called the manager of a custard shop outside of Milwaukee, Wis., a “smartass” after the man asked him to lower taxes.

Cities and States Eye Alcohol, Tobacco Fees and Taxes to Boost Budgets

Alcohol consumption by San Francisco residents costs the city 'tens of millions of dollars in harm every year,' according to an alcohol industry watchdog that is pushing a local 'alcohol mitigation fee' to offset the costs.
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Rich got richer, paid more taxes under Bush

The rich did indeed get richer under President George W. Bush, but they also paid an ever-larger share of the federal tax burden, according to new numbers compiled by Congress' chief scorekeeper.

After dipping in the early part of the Bush administration, by 2007 the top quintile of earners - ...
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Middle Class--Not the Rich or the Poor--Pay Majority of Federal Taxes, Says CBO Data

Middle-class Americans--not the poor or the rich--pay the majority of annual tax revenues taken in by the federal government, according to data in a new Congressional Budget Office study. Households earning less than $34,300 per year, meanwhile, actually pay a negative average federal income tax rate.
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Senate rejects more stimulus funding

The Senate on Wednesday rejected a $140 billion taxes and spending package in a resounding defeat for President Obama and Democratic leaders that signaled the era of freewheeling stimulus spending is giving way to greater concern for deficits.

Hours later, chastened Democrats produced a pared-down version they said spent less ...
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House Passes Tax Cut for Small-Business Investment

Long-term investors in some small businesses would escape capital gains taxes under a bill passed by the House Tuesday as congressional Democrats tried to revive their jobs agenda.
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States' red ink augurs cuts, higher taxes

To raise taxes or cut services, that again will be the question for governors dealing with hobbled budgets heading into the 2011 fiscal year, a new study by two lobbying groups for state governments shows.

The report by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers ...
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Clinton: Rich 'Not Paying Their Fair Share' in Taxes

The rich are not being taxed enough and the economy is suffering for it, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday. 

Bill Requires Rhode Island to Pay Taxpayers Interest on Delayed Tax Refunds

Several Rhode Island state congressmen have introduced a bill requiring the state to pay the same rate of interest after 60 days on tax refunds owed to taxpayers that the state assesses for overdue taxes.
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Social Security Needs Small 'Tweaks,' New Congressional Report Says

Social Security faces a $5.3 trillion shortfall over the next 75 years, but a new congressional report says the massive gap could be erased with only modest changes to payroll taxes and benefits.
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Report: Tweaks can fix Social Security

Social Security faces a $5.3 trillion shortfall over the next 75 years, but a new congressional report says the massive gap could be erased with only modest changes to payroll taxes and benefits. Some of the options are politically dangerous, such as increasing payroll taxes or reducing annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients. Others, such as gradually raising the age when retirees qualify for full benefits, wouldn't be felt for years but would affect millions. Many wouldn't affect current recipients, according to the report by the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Committee Chairman Herb Kohl, Wisconsin Democrat, said small ...

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Schwarzenegger Budget: No New Taxes, Deeper Cuts

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Schwarzenegger Calls for Deep Spending Cuts, No New Taxes in Budget Plan

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday called for eliminating California's welfare-to-work program, one of the deep cuts he proposed to close a $19 billion budget deficit in the coming fiscal year.